Chills
Albus woke to a gloomy grey sky outside his window and prepared for the next day. He had once again had a bad night. His dreams were constantly filled with the pale man in it, but he pushed the thoughts out of his mind, as he prepared his books for the day. He had Potions again and this time, he was to sit next to Scorpius Malfoy. Albus thought that Scorpius wasn't so bad, and he didn't understand why his father had looked over towards the Malfoys' with slight disgust. Maybe it was to do with the second wizarding war? Albus shrugged away his worries as he found the book his father had placed into his cauldron.
It was a potions textbook with an inscription written on the inside 'Property of the Half-Blood Prince.' Now Albus understood. His father had once told him the story of this textbook, how useful it was to him in his sixth year, and how it originally belonged to his middle name's namesake, Severus Snape. His father and mother had told many stories about the great man who acted as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix and lost his life protecting many people. Albus thought all about the stories he had been told over the years as he tied his tie and ran out of his dorm to a warm fire in the Gryffindor common room.
It happened when he was sitting in Potions. Once again, Professor Slughorn had allowed them to try making their own potions. Both he and Scorpius were helping Rose, for she had adopted her father's brain for the subject. Albus was watching Scorpius as he explained to Rose why adding Goosegrass helped strengthen the potion as well as help give it a warm yellow colour. Whilst watching them, Albus couldn't help but think how true to his word Scorpius had been. Rose had told Albus, whilst Scorpius had turned away, that she was wrong, and Scorpius was a good friend.
As the three of them sat back down for some more theory on the potion, Professor McGonagall's voice came from out of nowhere.
"All students report back to your common rooms immediately! All students report back to your common rooms immediately!"
Albus turned towards Scorpius and they both shared a worried face for a few moments before departing for their common rooms. Albus grabbed on to Rose's hand as they left the Potions classroom, down near Slytherin Common Room, and raced up all the flights of stairs to get to the Gryffindor Common Room. But they were unlucky. The stairs were not favouring them as they turned away from the next staircase that led to Gryffindor Tower, but towards the third floor corridor. Albus knew that they couldn't wait for the staircases to turn, and he led rose up a different flight of stairs. He raced up them, clutching Rose's hand to make sure she was still with him, his other hand holding an outstretched wand. It was too late before he realised the cold chill in the air and the darkness that surrounded the two of them as candles were blown out all around them.
Albus turned around slowly. If he was right, he knew what was behind him but he did not know the spell that would help him escape. He felt Rose's limp cold hand in his hot sweaty one and knew that she had seen them. He turned, his wand shaking in his hand, to see cloaked figures standing far taller than he had imagined in front of him. Now he understood why Professor McGonagall wanted everyone inside.
The Dementors were bigger than ever. Albus had known that his father and mother had to battle against them in the war, but they had said that they were about the height of two fourth years. These Dementors were over five metres tall with cloaks that hung on their fragile bones weightlessly, showing stick-thin hands and feet, the only face being a large hole behind the huge dark hood.
He didn't know what to do. His parents had never told him the spell that would get rid of the cloaked creatures. His body told him to flee, try and escape before the Dementors got near him. Now he knew he should have been in Slytherin. At least his common room would have been closer and he would have never ended up in this situation. Albus glanced over to where Rose was standing next to him and he saw her face. Lifeless; soulless, as it was engulfed by a hooded creature, and at that moment, Albus felt the creeper called rage enter his blood flow and he thought about when Rose was smiling and laughing on the train. That smile was what he wanted to see on her face, not a hooded Dementor. A voice, unrecognizable to Albus, uttered two words into his mind.
"Expecto Patronum" the syllables whispered out of his mouth as he continued to remember Rose's smile. Silver light erupted out of his wand and the Dementors flew off as the proud peacock stood before Albus warding the Dementors away. He squeezed Rose's hand and keeping his memory burning in his head, had his Patronus lead the way to the Gryffindor Common Room.
It was not until they had safely reached inside the common room that Albus stopped his charm. He turned and saw everyone staring, their eyes glinting towards Albus and the silvery peacock that had just disappeared out of sight.
"Mr Potter! Miss Weasley! Where were you two and why are you so late? And was that a Patronus I spied that was coming out of your wand Mr Potter as you entered?" Professor McGonagall bombarded Albus with questions as the rest of the Gryffindor House fell behind her staring at Albus and Rose. "You better have some good answers as there are many teachers looking for the two of you." Her pinched face was ghostly pale as she looked with wide eyes at the two first-year students.
"Professor, we're very sorry. The staircases kept moving and were leading us away from the common room. Before I knew it, the Dementors," people gasped as Albus mentioned the word that had not been heard for quite some time, but he carried on with his story, "…the Dementors were right behind us...and…and one was on Rose, and all I could think was how Rose looked so lifeless without her smile, so…so I kept thinking about her smile and I just said the words, I didn't even realise it, they just came out, you know, and there it was a silver peacock right in front of me," Albus was speaking so fast now it was hard to keep up with him. "So I kept thinking about Rose's smile and just kept the spell alive and I managed to get hold of Rose and take her with me and I got us back here as quickly as possible." Albus had rushed the last few words.
"My boy! What bravery, what courage!" said the Professor with a slight whisper of a smile on her face as she handed Rose a bar of chocolate to eat. "A first year producing such a brilliant Patronus is unheard of!" She sat down on an armchair and slowly from behind her clapping started and it slowly erupted from all around Albus as he was congratulated for saving his cousin's life. Albus felt weird…he never liked being the centre of attention, but being congratulated for something he thought he could never in his dreams do, he felt overwhelmed. The only thing that replayed in Albus's mind was who the voice was who had told him the spell. He knew there was no-one there except Rose and himself, so who could it have been?
Once the Dementors had been rid of, pupils from Gryffindor met up with other Houses and retold the story to other students. It slowly spread around the school, with slight variations, what Albus had achieved and every time he walked down a corridor people looked at him with a smile and respect on their faces. Albus never felt more saint-like, but he remained with his friends, never becoming the 'popular' kid. His friends meant everything to him and he would never let them go.
The man pushed open the wooden gate and walked up the weeded pathway. He could not believe he was here, at this place, meeting someone he had thought he had left behind years ago. But it was happening. The overgrown weeds surrounded him as he ignored the wooden post that had sprung up as he entered the house. He walked slowly up to the burnt door and opened it with the feeling of dread and fear inside of him, knowing that what would happen inside could change the lives of everyone in the wizarding world.
He had known the plan had failed. The moment his left wrist had burned, and he had been summoned to Godric's Hollow, he had known. The blond man took his time walking up the stairs, barely making a noise whilst climbing the old burnt staircase, his hand placed gently on top of the banister. At the top of the stairs he stopped. His thoughts had clouded his vision and for the first time in nineteen years, he was afraid. Afraid that everything he had built up in the last two decades had come to nothing, afraid that he was about to jeopardise the life of his grandson who sat in Hogwarts unaware of the situation about to happen. Was it worth it? Did he have the strength, the courage to go against a man who riddled fear into every witch and wizards' life?
No. He did not. He was a Slytherin at heart, cowardly and weak and unable of bravery and strength.
Without another thought, the man pushed open the door to a small nursery, where instead of burnt toys and a crumbled cradle, a table had been placed, and around it, many cloaked people sat.
The man took his seat next to a person whose face was covered in stubble and whose eyes were cold black. He was part werewolf and was a disgusting man to sit next to. A few moments later, in came two hooded people, both alike in height, and behind them, strode in a pale man. Nerves tensed in the room. Pairs of eyes laid upon the pale man before quickly running wildly across the room staring at other eyes in disbelief.
It had been nineteen years since the fall of Lord Voldemort yet here he stood still with fiery red eyes that wanted power beyond measure. He stood tall, proud of his Death Eaters, his wand clutched to his side fiercely.
Lucius Malfoy looked down. Many years he had served this man and never once had he gone against him, always accepting orders, carrying them out gratefully and loyally, but for the first time, he doubted Voldemort's greed for power and he doubted that pure-blood wizards were the best. His son had made a home for himself, he had a little child, but here Lucius sat, forever loyal to the Dark Lord.
"My fellow companions," Voldemort's voice was soft, but no-one misunderstood the disgust in his voice. "I asked you to simply find a boy and return him to me, yet you return to me with failure, I see? Failure is not possible, friends, for that boy must be found and he must be brought here. He carries something vital within him and if not removed, once again I may fall, but this time, I may never return. We are lucky that Mr Potter is not likely to know what has happened to his boy, but if this information ever leaks, Albus Potter may never be found."
The seriousness of what Voldemort had said jerked inside the bodies of the Death Eaters. They understood the power Lord Voldemort still had but they understood the graveness of the situation.
As the Death Eaters filed out of Harry Potter's old nursery, they formed a circle outside the burnt house. One after another they all placed their hands in the middle, forming a pile of hands. Lucius cautiously placed his hand within the pile. A moment later his left hand burnt and he turned to find his mark returned to normal, and it was then that he understood that he couldn't go back. He was in the quest now and back to being in the team.
Each of the Death Eaters disapparated one by one until Lucius Malfoy was left by himself outside Lily and James Potter's house. He thought of the night they were brutally murdered, but before feeling sorry for the Potters, he turned around and he thought of how to capture the last remaining Horcrux.